


don't start caring about me now ('bout me now, 'bout me)

by fortunehasgivenup



Series: prompt fills [9]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Awkward Dates, F/M, Jealousy, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunehasgivenup/pseuds/fortunehasgivenup
Summary: When Beth (accidentally) winds up on a date with a dad from school, she encounters Rio. Because of course he's there.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: prompt fills [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608919
Comments: 21
Kudos: 215





	don't start caring about me now ('bout me now, 'bout me)

**Author's Note:**

> ggfanatic0 prompted: Can someone please write a Brio fic where Beth is on a date and Rio shows up, and she purposely makes him jealous? Do what you want with it but this is what I imagine:
> 
> She’s on this bad date with a parent from school and sees Rio. She wants him to think she’s having a great time. She torments him while he watches her have dinner with someone (laughing at jokes that aren’t funny, touching hands, blushing). Then torments him even more when he sees them leave in the date’s car and then even more when he drives by her house later and sees the car parked there. The guy could literally just be there to pick up his kid, who Annie offered to watch since she was babysitting Beth’s anyway - but Rio doesn’t know this and he drives off all pissed. He comes back (the next night, later the same night??) and they just have it out! 😂 Could be set right after she sees him with Dylan!
> 
> **Note:** While I did not follow that exactly, here is my fill. The whole premise is that Beth thinks she's meeting up with this dad to talk about their kids' teacher, but he's treating it like a date. Then when Carl takes Beth home after their "date", he gets in her space and makes her feel uncomfortable. Rio and Beth have a short discussion about the potential dangers of letting a man take you home to an empty house.
> 
> This is set after the parking lot hug and before she has sex with Dean. Because, to quote Ruby, “Ain’t nobody want Dean.”

“It’s a date.”

“It’s not a date,” Beth called out to Annie.

Ruby scoffed. “Bee, he directly related this to the fact that you and your husband were separated.”

“It’s not a date!” Beth repeated for what had to be the 30th time. “Carl just wants to -“

“Get in your mom jeans,” Annie suggested, lying on Beth’s bed. “Wants to get in the bone zone.”

Ruby tossed a ballet flat in Annie’s direction. “Don’t call it that!”

Annie just smacked the shoe aside. “I’ll call it what I want!”

“Look,” Beth said, stepping out of the closet and staring Annie down, “if this was a date, I would be putting effort into it, wouldn’t I?”

Annie studied Beth’s jeans and sweater. “You’re wearing that on a date?”

“It’s not a date!” Beth hissed, moving to sit on her sister.

The two of them tussled for a minute while Ruby sorted through Beth’s shoes. Settling on a pair of gold sandals, she set them by the door.

“I picked your shoes,” Ruby told Beth, nudging her away from Annie. 

Beth craned her neck to see which ones Ruby had picked. “Oh, I completely forgot about those.”

“I know.” Ruby patted Annie’s hair down. “They were pretty far back in your closet. They’re cute though. You should wear them more often.”

Annie scowled. “It’s a date,” she muttered.

“It’s not a date!”

——————————————————

Beth was starting to think that Carl believed that this was a date.

He had picked her up from the house and opened the car door for her, something Dean had last done in…1997? And then he’d led her into a trendy bar that Beth felt distinctly uncomfortable in. 

“A bourbon, please,” Beth practically begged the server. “On the rocks.”

“What do you have on tap?” Carl asked, listening to an extensive list of beers and lagers and whatever else they had. Beth stopped listening after she heard the word microbrewery.

How had this happened?

Carl had approached her after school a couple of days earlier, asked if she had time to talk, maybe meet up for drink and talk about the teacher that Jane and his son Max shared. He hadn’t _said_ it was a date.

He finally settled on something, then waved the server off. Beth cringed a little at his condescension, making a mental note to make sure to tip well.

Carl was opening his mouth, probably to ask her a question, and Beth decided to head him off.

“Sports marketing,” she rushed. “That sounds so interesting.”

He practically beamed at her as he started to tell her all about his job.

In the middle of listening to him name drop some people that Beth was pretty sure played baseball, she felt a set of eyes on her. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and goosebumps spread up her arms. The arrival of the server with their drinks gave her a chance to glance around for the source of that gaze.

She didn’t see him at first, tucked away in the shadows at the bar. 

Then, someone moved, drawing her attention to Rio.

He was alone, just like he had been that night that they had -

Beth turned away quickly, before he could see her notice him. Her heart was racing far too quickly and she could feel a flush rising on her cheeks just from seeing him.

Why was he able to get such a reaction out of her, every time? He had her twisted up.

Ignore him, she reminded herself. It meant nothing. You mean nothing to him. Just a bathroom break.

Committing herself to ignoring Rio, she reapplied herself to her conversation with Carl.

It wasn’t hard. Carl was personable and told a good story, so she found herself smiling and chatting despite herself.

Beth laughed at Carl’s exaggerated impression of Ms. Dawson, the teacher that Jane and Carl’s son Max both had. “She isn’t that bad,” Beth protested. “She’s just new. Enthusiastic.”

Carl sipped his beer. “If you say so. All I know is she has way too much energy. I get tired looking at her.”

She continued to pretend that she couldn’t see Rio sitting a little ways down the bar and looking at her, leaning a little closer to Carl and smiling.

“You aren’t that old,” she told him with a roll of her eyes. “You’re like a year older than me.”

“But I _feel_ old,” he replied. 

Beth twisted a piece of her hair around her finger.

Carl smiled back at her. “I’m glad that we could do this, Beth.”

“Uh, me too,” she said, almost immediately regretting it when he reached out and set his hand on her leg. She let him keep it there for a few seconds so it didn’t look like she was running, then excused herself. “I just need to run to the bathroom.”

Carl nodded. “Want another drink?”

“I think I’m good.”

“I’ll get the bill,” Carl said, “and then we can head out.”

Beth went to the bathroom and, hesitating for the briefest moment, locked the door behind her. She walked over to the mirror and stared at herself.

“Get it together, Beth,” she muttered.

The bathroom door rattled as someone tried to open it.

Beth stopped breathing. Starting to turn towards it, heart racing with the thought that Rio had followed her a second time, it rattled again.

“It’s occupied!” a woman cried out. 

Her heart dropped.

Of course it wasn’t him.

Swallowing, Beth went to the door and unlocked it. There was a young woman in a sequinned dress, well on her way to being drunk, on the other side.

“Oh hi!” she said to Beth.

“All yours,” Beth stepped out.

The young woman bobbed her head enthusiastically. “You’re like, really pretty. Way too pretty for the guy you’re here with.”

Beth’s mouth fell open.

“I hope he’s good in bed at least.”

“He’s a friend,” Beth said.

The girl shook her head, then reached out to pat Beth’s shoulder. Without saying anything else, she went into the bathroom, leaving Beth staring at the wall. 

Had that just happened?

Annie had once said something along the lines of “Always trust the advice of the drunk girl in the bathroom.” Was this what she had been talking about?

Blinking a couple of times and shaking her head, Beth returned to the bar. Rio had disappeared, but Carl was waiting for her.

She wished she’d had the foresight to drive herself to the bar, although then she would have known that they were going to a bar rather than somewhere more suited to talking about their kids. Perhaps that had been Carl’s plan all along. Was it a date if you didn’t go into it with the knowledge that the other person thought it was?

Standing on the passenger’s side of Carl’s SUV and looking up at the sky, she sent up a silent question to whatever higher power might be listening. _Why me?_

Nothing descended from the sky to explain to her what she had done to get herself into this mess, so she got into the car and let Carl’s conversation just wash over her.

He didn’t seem to pick up on her change in mood.

“Thanks, Carl,” Beth rushed to say when he stopped in front of her house, hoping to jump out of the car before he could -

He turned it off and opened his door.

Beth winced, but got out to lead the way up to her door. “It really isn’t necessary for you to walk me to the door,” she said.

“Oh, no trouble,” Carl assured her.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to get to the door. Keys still in her purse, she turned to tell Carl good night, but he beat her to it.

“I’ve been having a great time,” Carl said, stepping closer to Beth. She stiffened, aware that her back was against the door. “Why don’t we keep it going? We can stay casual. I bet you need to work Dean out of your system.” His voice had gotten low and Beth could see that he was eyeing her like he was going to pounce.

“I-“ Beth had no idea how to reply to that.

“I’m gonna say that she ain’t interested.”

Beth and Carl both whipped their heads around looking for the source of the voice, but Beth found it first. Rio stepped out of the shadows at the end of the porch.

How had he even gotten here? She glanced out to the street and caught sight of a familiar black car in front of the Morgans’ house. Shit, how had she missed that?

“Who the hell are you?” Carl asked.

Rio smiled, but didn’t answer.

“Beth, you know this guy?”

Rio tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, Elizabeth, you know this guy?” he gestured at Carl with a shake of his head. “I think you should go.”

“I don’t know you and I’m pretty sure that you have no say in -“

Rio clicked his tongue. “Pretty sure, huh? Let me guess. You’re pretty sure Elizabeth’s feelin’ you, right?”

Carl straightened up. “She’s playing hard to get.”

“What?” Beth drew both men’s attention back to her. “No, I’m not!”

“Why else would you have been playing coy?” Carl asked.

Beth stared at him. “Are you serious, Carl? This wasn’t even a date!”

Carl opened his mouth to respond, but Rio’s laughter cut him off. “Damn, that’s harsh. I think she might be a little too much for you to handle,” Rio swaggered a little closer, “Carl.” 

Beth had no idea how he did that, putting so much weight into a person’s name that it sank into their belly. Sometimes, like when he said Elizabeth, it was in a good way. 

She imagined that Carl had felt it like a punch to the gut.

“I’ll talk to you later, Beth,” Carl said, turning around and heading to his car.

Rio scoffed. “Shit, he really left you out to dry, huh? What if I had nefarious intentions?”

“Nefarious?” Beth pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. “Aren’t they always, with you?”

He chuckled, following her into the house.

Turning to face him, Beth lifted her chin and stared Rio down. He just looked amused.

“What?” she snapped.

Rio didn’t seem to move, but all of a sudden he was closer, almost looming over her. “What are you doing, Elizabeth?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Don’t you have that dumbass husband of yours keeping you occupied enough? Gotta go get yourself a side piece.”

Beth glared at him. “He said he wanted to talk about our kids’ teacher. It wasn’t a date.”

“No?” Rio’s lips pulled upwards ever so slightly. “He didn’t get that memo.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t include yourself in the list of men keeping me occupied,” Beth said, trying to sound sure of herself. “What with the amount of time you spend popping up in my life and demanding I run your errands. Drop off your cars and -“

“Yeah, but you bein’ paid for that,” Rio commented, stepping around Beth to enter the kitchen. He looked at her over his shoulder. “Something else I’m doing to make your life complicated?”

Beth laughed. “Complicated? You?”

She watched him lean against the kitchen counter, hands shoved in his pockets. 

“Where’s the husband tonight?” he asked. 

“He and the kids are at his mother’s for the night.”

Rio nodded, looking away. He was staring out the glass of the door at the picnic table where she so often found him waiting for her. “You alone in this big house and you let a man bring you home? What were you gonna do if he tried to get inside?”

Beth scoffed. “Carl isn’t the -“

“Isn’t what, the type?” Rio’s tone was harsh. “You’ve got to have the worst sense of self-preservation I ever encountered. If this was business, you’d be dead.”

“It isn’t business,” she snapped at him. 

Her mind provided her with the replay of the smile on his face as he’d hugged the gorgeous woman he’d given the car to. He’d kissed the side of her neck. Had seemed loose in a way she’d never seen him, not even with his son at the park. “Besides, you’re the one I need to worry about.”

Rio watched her move around the kitchen, getting herself a nightcap. When she held up a second glass, he nodded once.

She poured for both of them, then slid his glass towards him. He didn’t take it right away, just sort of stared at it.

“Who is she?”

Rio’s head came up. “What?”

“The woman,” Beth said. “The one in the parking lot. Who you gave the car to.”

His lips curled. If she hadn’t spent months watching his face at this point, she probably wouldn’t have noticed the subtle shift of muscles below the skin, but she had and she did. He lifted his drink and took a sip before answering.

“You watching me, Elizabeth?”

She knew without him saying it that he’d been aware of her watching. Had known that she, Ruby, and Annie hadn’t left until after he’d handed those keys over.

“I’m not the one that’s married.”

Beth snorted. “If you can call it that.”

“You got a marriage certificate, kids, a house you live in together. You call that something different out here in the ‘burbs?” Rio asked, stepping towards Beth. She stepped back, watching him carefully.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Then she ain’t yours,” Rio hissed. Beth bumped into the refrigerator with her next step back, but unlike earlier when Carl had backed her up against the door, she didn’t feel trapped. 

She lifted her chin and planted her feet. “So we’re agreed,” she said in her best customer service voice, “neither of us have any business caring what the other gets up to. Which leads me to wondering what you’re doing in my house.”

“He fuck you?”

Beth’s head jerked back. “What? Carl? No, you -“

His jaw twitched and then she got it.

“You mean Dean.”

Rio doesn’t respond.

She opened her mouth to say no, then decided better of it.

“Thought we just agreed it wasn’t any of your business.”

Rio chuckled. She heard the clink of him setting his glass down on the counter and then leaned down towards her. “Did he fuck you?” he repeated his question, staring daggers at her.

“Did you fuck her?”

“I asked first,” Rio said.

Beth didn’t say anything.

“You really think I’d hurt you?”

She relaxed slightly. “Not - not like that,” she said carefully. “But I think there’s plenty of ways to hurt people and you’re well versed in a lot of them.”

He nodded. “You’d be right.”

“Why are you here, Rio?”

He maintained eye contact with her for a beat, then looked away. “If I said this was a, what do they call 'em," he sounded slightly amused, "booty call?”

She bit her lip, rolled in between her teeth. “I’d say -“ she thought about it for a moment. “Tell me who she is.”

That brought Rio’s eyes back to her. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips, even as he shook his head.

He leaned down.

“Get your house in order,” Rio murmured, his lips hovering over her cheeks. “Then maybe I’ll answer that question.” He set his hand on her hip, then used the other to turn Beth’s head so he could kiss her.

Beth melted into him, but before she could reach out to touch him in return, he broke the kiss and stepped back.

“Goodnight, Elizabeth,” was all he said before he left her leaning against her fridge trying to pretend that he hadn’t affected her.

**Author's Note:**

> In an attempt to make myself write things that aren't always 10k+, I'm taking prompts on tumblr (or on here if you prefer). They will all be unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine and I'll be uploading them as a series rather than chapters because seeing that 1/? is stressful. I'm still working on all my other stuff as well, so most of those should be updating soon. As always, if there's something you think should be warned for, please let me know.
> 
> Title from Dua Lipa's Don't Start Now.


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